


A Very Special New Year

by Varewulf



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Fluff, Yuri, but I wanted to credit them anyway, cute couple, new year's, that got a lot longer than intended, the rest of Aqours really only have minor roles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 09:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12931956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varewulf/pseuds/Varewulf
Summary: Ruby manages to travel back to see Leah for New Year's, and they get to spend the whole weekend together.





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> For the second of this year's Christmas stories (which is technically happening post-Christmas), we are revisiting Ruby and Leah from Love Live Sunshine. I wanted to get episode 9 watched before I started this one, and now that that's done, let's see what we can do about this.  
> Post-completion: Okay, that became a lot longer than I expected it would. Proof-reading this wasn't easy, but I'm fairly happy with it. Originally it wasn't meant to split into chapters,  
> so I decided to split them up by day, regardless of how long the text for each of them was.  
> I might still make edits to fix typos and such as I re-read this over the next couple of days, but I really wanted to get it out there.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though they have just been apart for a few days, Ruby is thrilled to get to see Leah again, and Leah is thrilled to have Ruby back.

Getting the permission for this hadn't been easy, but Ruby had done her very rubesty. Convincing Dia had been the hard part. Getting Mari to lend her the money for the ticket had been fairly easy. Mari seemed very supportive of Ruby going to see Leah, and had even helped talk to Dia. Ruby wasn't sure how long it would take her to repay all of that, but she was certain it would be worth it.

She was going to stay with Leah in Hakodate for New Year's. Of course she felt bad about asking for that after they had just come back from the Christmas concert they did, but she wanted this more than anything else in the world right now. Even more than winning Love Live. If she missed this opportunity, she'd have to wait a whole year for her next chance. It meant missing most of Dia's birthday for the first time ever, but she told herself that was going to happen sooner or later anyway.

Now she was at the airport, and everyone in Aqours had come to see her off. Which made her both happy and a little nervous, considering how selfish she was being.

"Good luck, zura," Hanamaru said as she hugged Ruby tightly. Her best friend had grown up so much, and Hanamaru was trying her best to not cry. Yoshiko had already failed at that.

"Eesh, you two, I'm just gonna be gone for the weekend," Ruby said to try to comfort them. But seeing the two of them like this strangely made her feel a little better.

"But we won't see you until next year," Yoshiko blubbered.

"Yoshiko-chan, that's just a few days away, zura," Hanamaru said, still keeping up a brave front.

"It's Yohane!" Yoshiko was still able to protest.

Chika came up and hugged Ruby next. "Have fun, okay?" she said.

Riko patted Ruby on the back. "You can do this," she added.

Ruby wasn't sure what they meant by 'this'. Did they have any idea what Ruby was thinking? She was only able to nod shyly in response.

"Remember to send us pictures!" You said, and gave a salute and a wink. Ruby did her very best to not blush.

Dia was standing a little back, letting the others do their thing while she dealt with her emotions. Soon enough Ruby came over and hugged her first. "I'll see you soon, big sister." Ruby was starting to feel tears of her own coming now, even though she was so excited to go.

Dia composed herself, then smiled. "Yeah. Remember to behave. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she told her little sister. An astute observer might have noticed Mari's eyebrows raise a little.

Kanan patted Ruby on the head. "Have fun," she said, repeating Chika's encouragement.

After Ruby released Dia, Mari came up and handed her an envelope. "Here, some spending money," she said with a slight grin.

"Huh? But I-" Ruby tried to protest, but Mari put it into her hands, and closed them around it.

"I insist! Have a _shiny_ time!" Ruby could tell Mari wasn't going to back down, so even though she felt a little guilty about it, she opened a pocket on her backpack to slide the envelope into. It wasn't like she had to spend it.

"Mari..."

"I don't want to hear it, Dia," Mari said when Dia started to say something, likely a protest of her own.

Ruby made it through security, and got to the gate with time to spare. As she was waiting to board she was filled with nervous energy. She wondered if Leah was feeling the same. They had grown very close very fast while working on the song. Maybe it had even started before Ruby had suggested that. Yet part of her felt a little worried that now that they had been apart for a few days, maybe Leah was starting to have second thoughts. Probably... hopefully that was just a silly, unfounded idea.

She really couldn't wait to see Leah again.

\---

While they were watching the aeroplane take off, Mari couldn't contain herself any longer.

" _Wow_ , how bold of you, Dia," she said cheerfully, and nudged Dia in the arm.

"Huh?" Dia gave Mari a confused look.

"You said she could do anything you do," Mari said, and grinned wide.

That hadn't been Dia's exact phrasing, but: "Yeah?" Dia didn't get it. What was Mari so worked up about now?

Kanan came to the 'rescue', unable to hold back a smile of her own. "I think what Mari means is... remember what we did just the other night?" she asked.

They could clearly see it slowly dawn on Dia that she had unwittingly given Ruby permission to go all the way with Leah.

Dia fumbled for her phone. "I-I have to call her right away," she said.

"Dia, you can't call someone on a plane," Kanan said patiently. Dia still tried, and of course couldn't get through. Ruby's phone was in aeroplane mode.

"I have to call her as soon as she lands!" Dia said rather loudly, and the rest of Aqours standing a little further away glanced curiously in her direction.

"Relax, Dia," Kanan said calmly. "Ruby wouldn't take it to mean that. Mari's just teasing." Teasing Dia was fun, but they shouldn't take it too far.

"But if she did, you're not allowed to complain now~" Mari said in a very pleased tone.

Dia drew a deep breath. "Mariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

\---

Ruby felt like she was on pins and needles for the entire flight, and had to control herself so she didn't rush out of the plane as quickly as possible after they landed. Flying all on her own was a little intimidating, but knowing who was waiting for her made it a lot easier to not panic.

As she turned off aeroplane mode, the phone buzzed almost immediately. It was a text that she had a voice message waiting. From Dia. Had she forgotten something? Hopefully it wasn't anything important. After she got out of the plane itself, she went into a corner, and called the voice mail service.

"You have: one message." * _beep_ *

"Ruby! Ruby, listen! Don't do what I do!" It was Dia's voice, and she sounded very agitated.

"Dia, get off the phone." That was Kanan's voice. "Ruby-chan's a big girl, she'll be fine." There were noises as if Kanan was trying to take the phone from Dia, and Ruby could hear Dia's protests. "Dia, stop it."

"Yeah, she's a big girl!" A voice in the background that had to be Mari spoke up.

"Mari, you're not hel-" * _beep_ * Kanan's voice was cut off at the end there.

Ruby stared at her phone, and had no idea what that was all about. She'd have to text Dia later and ask. More importantly right now she didn't want to leave Leah and Sarah waiting.

It was hard to stop herself from jogging all the way. She had to pick up her luggage before she could get outside anyway, and her rushing wasn't going to speed that up. But she wanted to see Leah as soon as possible.

She was walking really fast after she got her suitcase, and once she could see Leah and Sarah waiting for her, it turned into a half-jog. "Leah-chan!" she called out, and rushed over to hug her. "I missed you."

Leah returned the hug. "I've missed you too," she said. It had only been a few days, yet it felt like an eternity. Waiting for Ruby to come back had been as trying as it had been for Ruby waiting to go back.

Then they remembered they were in public, and that Sarah was right next to them. They both looked over at her, but she just smiled, and pretended she hadn't seen anything. Ruby and Leah awkwardly let go of each other, feeling rather embarrassed. Still, Ruby couldn't stop smiling every time she looked over at Leah. Leah wasn't much better at playing it cool right now either.

The sun was just setting on Friday, so they had tonight, Saturday, Sunday, and then Ruby was leaving Monday evening. Almost three days for the two of them to... actually, Ruby really only had one plan in mind, and wasn't sure what she wanted to spend the rest of the time doing. She just wanted to spend it with Leah.

After they'd had dinner, the two of them ended up in Leah's room. It was pitch black by now, and really quite cold outside.

"So... um... do you wanna go somewhere?" Leah asked. She hadn't put that much thought into what they should do either, she had mostly been excited about Ruby coming back. But even though it was dark, they could still go to a café or diner or something for dessert. There was a cat café that Ruby would probably like that should still be open. That's the sort of stuff you should do, right? Leah hadn't had a girlfriend before, or even much in the way of regular friends, but she had tried to read up on it. The problem was that it was as if it was written in a foreign language.

Ruby yawned a little. Now that she had sat down, it hit her how tired she was. She had been too nervous and excited to sleep much last night, and had been on edge all the way here. Finally being here, and seeing Leah be so cute, was warming her heart, and making her relax.

She smiled at Leah. "Would it be okay if... if we just stayed in tonight?" Ruby asked, and was rewarded with a slight blush on Leah's cheeks.

"I guess... um... that's fine..." Leah said. This was the first time they were really, properly alone in her room. Hanamaru and Yoshiko had been there before. Not always in the room, but never far away. Sarah was still in the house, but Leah had the impression she wasn't going to pry.

Ruby was feeling in a cuddly mood, and her inhibitions were perhaps a little relaxed from being too tired to overthink things. So while Leah was preoccupied with thinking about what might happen when it was just the two of them alone, Ruby shuffled around the table to cosy up against Leah's side. She was still a little chilly from being outside, and Leah felt warm.

"W-what are you-" Leah sputtered, rather startled at Ruby's boldness. She instinctually started to lean away, but Ruby slid her arm in under Leah's, and linked them together. "R-Ruby?"

"Oh..." Ruby blushed a little, as if she just realised what she was doing, and looked at Leah. "D-don't you want to?" she asked. Her grip on Leah's arm loosened, so Leah could pull away if she wanted to.

Leah easily matched Ruby's blush. She hesitated for a moment while thinking it over, then said: "It's fine..." She leaned back against Ruby, and they ended up resting their heads against each other. It wasn't long before Ruby dozed off, and her head slid down to rest against Leah's shoulder. Leah was trapped now.

"Ruby?" Leah whispered to check if she was still awake or not, but there was no response. It wasn't like she was actually trapped, as it wouldn't be that hard to move Ruby if she wanted to. But Ruby was so adorable right now that Leah wasn't sure if she actually wanted to. Letting Ruby sleep like this for too long was probably bad for her though. She'd catch a cold, or hurt her neck. Maybe Leah should lay her down in a more comfortable position.

~~~~

_Leah carefully eased Ruby down to rest her head on a pillow, and pulled a blanket over her. Clearly Ruby needed the rest, but Leah shouldn't let her sleep too long. Then she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight._

_Leah reached out, and gently ran her fingers through one of Ruby's pig-tails. Her hair was nice and soft, and she looked really cute. Leah had an idea for how to wake her up. She moved her hand to stroke Ruby's cheek, then leaned down and planted a kiss-_

~~~~

The blush on Leah's face was furious. What was she thinking? She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. Her first kiss couldn't happen like that. No wait, that wasn't what she meant. In a desperate effort to distract herself, she put her phone on silent, and started texting Sarah.

" _Sarah, help. Ruby has fallen asleep_." It was a little hard to type properly in this position, but she got there, and hit send.

It was about a minute before she got a response. " _And why does that mean you need my help?_ " Sarah sent back.

" _She's sleeping on me. She might catch a cold. What do I do?_ " Leah typed as quickly as she could.

" _On you? Maybe it's best I give you privacy then_." Sarah texted, and added a winking emoticon.

Leah couldn't blush any more than she was already doing. " _No! Help!_ " She was truly desperate.

It wasn't long before she could hear footsteps outside the room.

"Alright, here I am," Sarah said as she lifted the cloth, and peeked inside. "D'awww, you two look adorable." She smiled wide as she saw them. "Are you sure you don't want me to leave you alone?"

"Sarah, please," Leah hissed, still a little afraid to wake Ruby by being too loud.

"Okay, okay," Sarah said, while doing a poor job at disguising her smirk. It was still such a new thing to see Leah opening up to someone else. Surely she was allowed to enjoy that a little. "I'll roll out the futon, and we can move her over to that." She stepped carefully into the room. "Let her sleep for an hour or so."

They followed Sarah's plan, and soon enough had Ruby resting in a more suitable position. Not that Leah had necessarily minded having Ruby that close, but she got worried. And it made her think about things she wasn't ready for.

"Come on," Sarah said once they were done. "You can clean the floors in the front. I've done the tables, but I still have dishes to take care of."

"Okay..." Leah said reluctantly. She didn't want to leave Ruby's side now that she was finally here again, but just sitting there and watching her sleep would be weird. At least she was fairly certain it would be weird.

\---

When Ruby woke up again, she was rather confused. Why was she on the floor? No wait, why was she in a futon? Had she been dreaming? Maybe going to Hakodate had been just a dream, she thought as she pushed herself up, but then she saw Leah. Sitting on her bed, reading a book. Ruby was filled with joy again. "Hello," she said groggily.

Leah lowered the book, and her expression lit up. "Oh, you're awake!" she said eagerly, and leaned over to put the book on her nightstand.

"Yeah, sorry..." Ruby yawned, then stretched.

"It makes sense that you're tired, so... I guess it's okay," Leah said, having regained some of her composure. She slid forward, and dangled her legs off of the bed. Not sure if she should head over to Ruby or not.

"What time is it?" Ruby asked while rubbing her eyes.

Leah looked at her phone. "Nearly seven."

Ruby's eyes went wide. "Eep! Y-you could have woken me..." she said awkwardly.

"Erm..." Leah didn't feel like she could just say ' _you were too cute_ '. "W-well, you seemed really tired, so I figured... it was for the best."

There was a bit of an awkward silence as the two of them sat there not looking at each other because they both felt embarrassed.

Then Ruby remembered something. "Oh! Hang on..." She got up, and headed over to her suitcase. "I have something for you," she said as she opened it up.

"Huh? For me?" Leah asked, feeling somewhat confused.

"Yeah... I wanted to make you something, but there wasn't really time..." Ruby said. She moved a couple of shirts aside to find what she was looking for. "And I know it's late, but I didn't get you anything before I left." She pulled out something white, soft, and squishy, then walked over to Leah. "It's not wrapped, but... er... merry Christmas..." she said, and handed it over.

Leah looked at it for a moment before accepting it. It was a plush, with a pointy nose and pointy ears.

"I-it's an arctic fox!" Ruby explained quickly. "I figured since you're snow-themed, and... and... I like foxes, and... I don't know what you like..." She had really only halfway thought this through.

 _I like you_ , was Leah's immediate thought. "Um... thanks," she said instead, and held it up. This wasn't really her kind of thing, but it was cute, and more importantly it was from Ruby. "I haven't gotten you anything though," she admitted. It hadn't crossed her mind at all.

"That's fine," Ruby said. "We didn't agree on anything, so..." It had really just been a sudden impulse from her.

They smiled at each other, and Ruby sat down on the bed next to Leah. Who was thinking about how she should try to find something tomorrow. It didn't feel right to not get Ruby anything.

"Do you like it?" Ruby asked a little anxiously.

Leah kept looking at it for a little longer, then hugged it against her chest. "Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing Sarah as a more supportive and encouraging sister, to contrast Dia's occasionally excessive protectiveness. Dia wants to be supportive too, but she has a hard time not seeing Ruby as too young, precious, and innocent.  
> And the Dia/Kanan/Mari comedy bit was really fun to write, even though it's so short.


	2. Going Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Saturday, and Ruby and Leah take the time to go look at shops before Leah has to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably the hardest chapter to write. What I've seen described as the big, swampy middle. Writing the opening was fairly easy, and I knew what I wanted to do for New Year's Eve, but filling in the middle was harder.  
> I'm still fairly happy with how it turned out, though.

The next morning was a little rough for Leah. While Ruby had still been tired enough to fall asleep almost immediately after they went to bed, Leah wasn't so lucky. Ruby's presence in the room was making her too excited. And they hadn't even done anything special. Just hung out, cuddled some more, and watched a movie.

Yet Leah was used to waking up early to help out in the morning, so she wasn't able to sleep in either. She actually woke up before Ruby, and half-stumbled her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. There were still some morning preparations to get done, and she was going to help make breakfast. Ruby had woken up by the time Leah came back to the room to get dressed. So Ruby headed off to the bathroom, giving Leah time to change on her own. She had done the same last night when Ruby was brushing her teeth. It felt a little embarrassing to undress with Ruby in the room since they became a couple. Maybe that was silly.

On her way out she ran into Ruby heading back towards the room, and got caught in a morning hug. For a second Leah wasn't sure what to do, but then she returned the hug. "I have to go help make breakfast," she said.

"Mkay," Ruby said, and slowly let go. She went back to the room to change out of her pajamas, while Leah hurried off to the kitchen to help Sarah. And hoping that her face wasn't so red that her sister would notice. It was unbelievable how soft Ruby was.

While breakfast was being readied, Ruby put on her clothes for going outside. Even if they were going to be layered up warmly, it was nice to be dressed properly underneath as well. Dressing cute helped you feel cute, that was something every school idol understood.

She suddenly remembered she had meant to text Dia to ask about the weird voice message. Her sister hadn't tried calling again, which actually made her a little worried. Maybe Kanan was keeping watch over her, or something like that. Ruby wasn't stupid, she knew what Dia, Kanan, and Mari were up to. She had seen Dia and Kanan kiss! Though Dia probably didn't know that.

" _What did you mean when you said don't do what you do?_ " Ruby sent the text. Thinking about Dia reminded her of the envelope Mari had forced her to take. She knew she really shouldn't take any more of Mari's money. Having her pay for the plane ticket was already a lot. But... it couldn't hurt to at least see how much was inside.

It took her two tries to find the right pocket. The side ones were identical, but finally she could fish the envelope out. It wasn't that thick, so there couldn't be that much. Very carefully she opened the end, reached inside, and pulled the money out. Hang on, this was a 10 000 yen bill. Two... three... four... five! Ruby couldn't believe it. Mari had given her 50 000 yen. That was what she considered 'some spending money'?

There was absolutely no way Ruby could take all this. It was way too much. The Kurosawa family were fairly well off themselves, but Ruby had only managed to scrape together 5000 and a bit. She only had her allowance, after all. And she hadn't intended to spend all of it! She was relying on Sarah and Leah's hospitality, and it was just a few days. She definitely couldn't take this money. But maybe... maybe she just put one of them in her wallet. In case she found something that would let her have a _shiny_ time. Actually, maybe it was best to make that two, just in case there was some emergency. Yeah, that should work. It wasn't like she _had_ to spend it. It was just in case. Mari could have it back when Ruby returned.

She had just put the envelope back, and zipped the pocket closed, when she heard: "Breakfast is ready," from behind her.

"Eep!" Ruby jumped, and quickly turned. To see that it was just Leah.

"Are you okay?" Leah had to ask. That reaction had been unexpected. She hadn't thought Ruby was quite _that_ jumpy.

"Y-yeah, I was just... um..." Ruby dropped that sentence, and got up. "I'm coming," she said, and smiled at Leah.

Leah gave her a curious look, then turned around to lead the way. It crossed her mind that Ruby's outfit was very cute.

Breakfast was a fairly simple affair, which suited Ruby just fine. She didn't have a huge appetite in the mornings anyway.

"So, what are you two up to today?" Sarah asked, and smiled at them.

Leah faintly blushed. "I was just thinking I'd show Ruby around a little more..." she said. She had to help with work in the afternoon, but until then they were free.

"I was hoping to look at some shops," Ruby added. Not that she had anything particular in mind she wanted to buy, but she wanted to look around at least.

"We can do that," Leah said with a smile. It was a good opportunity to see about finding something for Ruby. Even if she had no idea what.

"Well, have fun," Sarah said. It was weird to see her sister growing up so quick, but it was a (mostly) good experience. She thought it was important to cheer her on. Cheer them both on.

\---

"You're really bundled up a lot," Leah commented on their way to the shopping district.

Ruby was wearing a muffler, ear muffs, mittens, and even calf warmers. "And you're not... don't you get cold?" she asked. Just seeing Leah so exposed made Ruby feel chilly.

Leah was only wearing her coat. To be fair, it was a very good coat. "I'm more used to the cold than you are," she said quite simply.

They rounded the corner, and all the shops started coming into view.

"Oh, why don't we get one of those long scarves we can wear together?" Ruby suggested.

Leah thought about it, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. Or maybe that was just the cold. "Wouldn't that make it hard to walk around?" she asked, as she honestly couldn't see how that would work practically.

"I guess so..." Ruby replied. It sounded quite romantic, but she wasn't sure how it would work either. Maybe it was for when they were sitting still, but... while the thought was warm, actually sitting still outside sounded very cold.

There were a lot of people about, so both of them felt rather nervous, but holding hands made things feel a little safer. If they got separated in this crowd, Ruby thought she might just panic and flee.

A lot of shops had started doing New Year's sales already. Since Christmas was over, there wasn't really a need to lure people into buying presents at full price any longer. So the aim was more to get rid of excess stock. They didn't have all the storage space in the world, after all. For Leah that seemed like the perfect opportunity to find something for Ruby. Except she still had absolutely no idea what.

Ruby kept being tempted by cute clothes she saw. Especially since she was acutely aware of the extra money she had put in her wallet, and how she'd be able to afford most of what she saw. And she kept seeing things that made her think: _Leah would probably look cute in this_. But she wasn't sure how to propose the idea of Leah trying something on for Ruby's sake. Maybe that was too selfish.

No more plushies though. She had set that rule for herself before she got on the plane. Even if they had something she had never seen in Numazu. Like that Hokkaido-branded fat cow she had seen in a shop window they walked past. Anything she couldn't find at home was at least a little tempting, though, not just plushies. Yet dragging Leah with her into souvenir shops was too embarrassing.

By the time they took a break for lunch, neither of them had bought anything, because they spent too much time over-thinking it. At least they had gotten to take some pictures, as Ruby wanted to make sure she had a lot of memories from this trip.

"It's hard to decide on something, isn't it?" Ruby said once they had sat down. They had just gone to a burger place, since it was cheap, and they got the food quickly.

"Y-yeah," Leah replied. Why was picking a present such a difficult thing? Nothing seemed right. Nothing was good enough.

Ruby checked her phone while chewing on a potato chip, and saw she had gotten a message. A response from Dia. " _Nothing. Never mind. Don't worry about it. Just be a good girl, okay?_ " That just confused her even more. Also, she wasn't sure if she could promise that, considering what she had planned for tomorrow.

Still, she sent a quick: " _Okay_ ," then put the phone back in her pocket. When she looked back up, she could see Leah was deep in thought. "Is something the matter, Leah-chan?" she asked.

Leah snapped out of it. "Huh? Yeah, I mean no! Everything's fine," she answered, which didn't seem very convincing at all. She just had to hope she would come across something while they kept browsing.

They finished their meal while chatting idly about nothing of consequence, and then it was time to head back out. The restaurant had been quite warm, so going outside felt like having their cheeks nipped at by the frost. Ruby was glad it rarely got this cold down in Uchiura.

After wandering about a little more, Ruby spotted some boots she really liked the look of, and got Leah to come into the store with her so she could try them on. They had her size, and they were really comfy to walk in. The problem was the price tag. Even though they were discounted, it was more than she could reasonably afford. At least without using Mari's money. She really definitely shouldn't. It was just for emergencies, and for having a _shiny_ time. This was just selfishness. It would have to be for something that would benefit both her and Leah, she thought.

But when Leah smiled at Ruby, and said: "I think they look good on you," Ruby's reasoning went out the window, and the scales were heavily tipped in favour of 'get the boots'! If Leah liked them, then it was okay, right? Then it counted as being for the both of them. That's what she kept telling herself as she went to the register and bought them. She could pay Mari back later, somehow.

It was approaching time for them to head back. Leah's shift would start in a little over an hour. And she still hadn't been able to find anything to give as a present. They had been through, and gone past, a lot of stores now, and Leah's situation was getting desperate. So she finally decided to just pick something. Her mind latched onto the one thing she could think of: Ruby had mentioned a scarf earlier. That had been the talk of sharing one, but she was completely blanking on anything else.

So at the next store they passed where they had scarves, she dragged Ruby inside. It didn't matter if Ruby saw, or that it wasn't a surprise, she just needed to get one.

"Leah-chan, what are you doing?" Ruby asked as Leah frantically browsed through every scarf and muffler the shop had.

Finally Leah spotted a purple one with a pink pattern on it. "Do you want this one?" she asked Ruby. Maybe it was more her style than Ruby's, but the main thing on her mind right now was that she really liked it.

"Huh?" Ruby was confused.

Leah realised how she had said that. "I mean... I think it would look good on you," she tried instead.

"Oh?" Ruby was still confused.

"It's a present, okay?" Leah explained. Ruby just blinked at her, not really caught up on what was going on yet. But Leah had decided, so she went and paid for it, then handed it to Ruby. "Here. Merry Christmas. You can wear it if you want..."

She could see Ruby light up as she finally realised what was going on. "Ooooohhhhh, thank you, Leah-chan!" Ruby said, and hugged Leah. Then started to take off her muffler.

"H-hey, I didn't mean right... now..." Leah tried to say, but by the time she finished her sentence, Ruby was already wrapping the scarf around her neck.

"How does it look?" Ruby asked eagerly. It felt really soft, and she grinned at Leah. Her pink cheeks seemed to be glowing.

"Cute..." Leah said, even though that wasn't what she had meant to say out loud. So she turned quite pink herself.

It was time to head back, and they walked hand in hand again. Ruby was very, very pleased with the scarf. She didn't care that it didn't really match anything else in her wardrobe. Leah had picked it out for her, and she wanted to wear it forever.

\---

It was quite late by the time Leah was done with cleaning up after work. The restaurant wasn't open that late, but the three of them had had dinner after closing, and then all the cleaning had started. Tomorrow was likely to be a busy day, so they had to make sure everything was ready. They were closing a couple of hours early due to it being New Year's Eve, but they expected it to be busy the whole day, so Leah would probably not be able to take any time off. Which sucked when she had her girlfriend visiting, but they'd been out for a while today, and they had the day after as well.

When she got back to her room, she found Ruby watching videos on her computer. And giggling to herself.

"What are you doing?" Leah asked.

Ruby jumped slightly, but quickly recovered. "Leah-chan, come watch this video of cats getting startled and running away," she said.

Leah smiled, and leaned over Ruby's shoulder. It reminded her a little of Ruby herself. "Have you seen the one with the cats who fail to make jumps?" she asked.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, but I feel a little bad in case they hurt themselves..." she admitted.

It hit Leah, not for the first time, that Ruby was a very precious creature. Yet she always seemed to be the one leading, so maybe it was time for Leah to take a bit of initiative. Ruby seemed totally focused on the video, so Leah gathered her courage. She could do this. Very carefully she spread her arms, and swallowed nervously. Then she gently put her arms around Ruby, and pressed their cheeks together. She did it! She initiated an unprompted hug!

Ruby was definitely taken by surprise. "Leah-chan..." she said softly, then nuzzled against her. A big, goofy, happy smile spread on her face.

It was a bit awkward for Leah to stand like that though, so they brought the laptop to Leah's bed, crawled onto it, and put on a video of a live idol show. After quickly making a comfy resting place with the pillows, they snuggled against each other so they could comfortably watch, and more importantly listen.


	3. The Big Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Year's Eve is finally here, and while Leah has to work during the day, they have the whole evening together as they get ready for the fireworks. Ruby is prepared to enact her grand plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I hope it's as fun to read. I ended up playing around with several ideas to pass the time, but I'd like to think it worked out.

Ruby asked if she could help out the next morning, but beyond setting up for their own breakfast, both Sarah and Leah told her no. Not just because she was a guest, but also because they couldn't really afford to have someone without training help out today.

So Ruby ended up in Leah's room by herself. She could have gone somewhere, but she didn't feel like heading outside alone. Not that she'd get lost like Leah kept teasing her with, but everything around here was strange and unfamiliar to her. Yet she was prepared for something like this, and had brought a couple of books. Hanamaru had recommended what she called a 'naughty romance book' for Ruby to take along. Initially Ruby had turned it down, but eventually her curiosity overcame her, and she told Hanamaru she had changed her mind. The annoying part was that Hanamaru had looked like she had expected that.

Ruby was very curious about this book, but Leah had promised to stop by on her breaks. What if she caught Ruby reading this? Ruby figured she'd be safe if she sat with her back to the door. Leah would surely say something when she came in, so Ruby would have time to close the book, and hide the cover.

It started innocently enough, so Ruby figured she'd be fine. But about fifty pages in things started heating up between the two leads, and Ruby's face heated up in response. Did Hanamaru read books like this a lot? This was more than Ruby was able to handle. Yet for some reason she wasn't able to put it down. She started imagining herself and Leah as these two characters.

~~~~

_Leah was just stepping out of the shower as Ruby opened the door. It hadn't been locked, so she had thought it was unoccupied, but she was so very wrong. Leah hadn't even wrapped a towel around herself yet._

_"I-I-I'm sorry!" Ruby said, and quickly closed the door again._

_"It's okay," Leah's voice called out from inside. "You can come in, I don't mind."_

_"B-but Leah-chan..." Ruby's heart was beating incredibly fast._

_"I wouldn't mind some help drying off..." Leah's smooth voice sounded like it came from right on the other side of the door. Ruby reached for the door-handle..._

~~~~

"Hey Ruby, how is it going?" Leah asked as she came in the room, and Ruby squeaked. "Are you okay?" Leah asked, taken aback by the sudden reaction.

Ruby quickly closed the book, and put a pillow on top of it, before she turned around. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Leah certainly wasn't. "You're looking very red... you haven't caught a cold, have you?" She stepped closer, and knelt down to get on Ruby's level.

"I... I just..." Ruby had no idea what sort of excuse she could come up with for this. _Curse you, Hanamaru-chan!_ "I feel okay, b-but maybe I need a nap," she lied.

"Maybe..." Leah put a hand on Ruby's forehead, and it definitely felt warm. It would suck if Ruby got sick now. "I'll get you some water." She quickly hurried out so she could get it before her break ended.

Ruby felt really ashamed. She had failed at being a good girl earlier than she had intended. If Dia knew she was reading something like this, she might have fainted. Actually, that was probably an exaggeration, but she would have been scandalised. Ruby got into the futon when Leah came back with the water, to keep up the ruse. It was probably best to save the rest of that book for another day.

\---

Ruby had gotten through the whole book, and had time to cool off, before the restaurant closed for the day. She could have never imagined people wrote stories like that if she hadn't read one for herself. A whole new world had opened up for Ruby to glimpse into, but she was not at all bold enough to do most of the things she had seen. Not yet. They were really hard to get out of her mind, though. She hoped to reach that level with Leah some day.

For now she was at least able to tell Leah that she felt all better again, even if a slight blush returned when she said so. It was shameful that she had had to lie like that.

Dinner that night was leftover New Year's dishes from the day. Some of the ingredients had ran out, but Sarah cooked up what was left, and they had a respectable variety.

As she felt bad about not doing anything for two nights in a row, Ruby insisted that she could at least help clean up. It took a little convincing, but she ended up cleaning alongside Leah. That eased her guilt and shame a bit.

Afterwards the two of them made a trip to the convenience store to get some stuff and snacks they were missing for the night, and then all that was left was to wait for midnight. They passed the time by watching New Year's celebrations from other countries on TV, and playing games with Sarah. Until it was just half an hour left.

"Leah-chan, can we go outside and watch the fireworks?" Ruby asked. They could hear them starting up already.

"Huh? Sure, I guess," Leah answered, and looked at Sarah.

"You go, have fun," Sarah said, and smiled. "But don't stay out too late."

It took them a little while to get dressed and such, so by the time they were ready to head out the door, there were only 20 minutes left.

"Anything special you had in mind?" Leah asked. She had expected they would just sit inside, watch it on TV, and look out the windows.

"Just somewhere we can sit by ourselves," Ruby said, and smiled. She had a plan, though it required privacy. "Even in the backyard is fine."

Leah couldn't really think of anywhere else they could be sure they'd be by themselves, and she too liked the idea of just sitting alone waiting for the new year. There was an outside edge on the building where they could sit, so that's where they ended up.

"This is nice," Ruby said affectionately, and squeezed Leah's hand. She hadn't put on her mittens, because she wanted to be able to feel Leah's hand directly. It would get a little cold, but she could bear it for this short period of time.

Leah squeezed back. "Yeah," she said, and smiled. There were still nearly 15 minutes left, but a lot of fireworks were going off already. It would probably be spectacular once midnight hit.

"Hey, I want to try something," Ruby said. This had been on her mind ever since yesterday, but she had wanted to wait until this occasion. So she unravelled her scarf, and wrapped it around the both of them. They were able to get it comfortably around both of their necks, even if it wasn't exactly meant for that. Ruby was so happy it worked, and they were both feeling a lot warmer now. For various reasons.

They watched the fireworks in silence, and occasionally checked their phones to make sure of the time. When there were just a few minutes left, Ruby figured it was time to go for it.

"Leah-chan... you know about New Year's traditions, right?" Ruby opened with.

Leah turned her head to look at Ruby. "Huh? Which ones do you mean?" she asked.

"Well..." Ruby was feeling really nervous all of a sudden, even though she had been preparing herself for this since before she left for the airport. "You know... what they say you're supposed to do with the one you love at midnight..." One minute left, so she opened up a countdown stream on her phone, and turned up the volume.

 _50_...

Leah was still confused when Ruby turned to look back at her. She could see something sparkling in Ruby's eyes.

 _40_...

"What are you saying?" Leah asked, her cheeks glowing red.

 _30_...

"I'm saying..." But Ruby found herself unable to actually say it. "You know..." she said instead. Her cheeks were glowing too.

 _20_...

"Leah- chan..." Ruby whispered, and squeezed her hand tighter, then lifted her other hand up to cup Leah's cheek.

_10..._

_9..._

_8..._

_7..._

_6..._

"Don't be afraid, okay?" was all Ruby could think to say as she leaned closer, and closed her eyes.

_5..._

_4..._

_3..._

Leah wasn't sure how to react, so she just sat there mesmerised. In a way she knew what was coming, but she also couldn't believe it.

_2..._

_1..._

Their lips met, and the fireworks that went off in their minds easily matched those in the sky. The kiss might be clumsy, and awkward, but in this very moment it was also magical.

" _HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!_ " the phone shouted, and if they were paying attention they might have faintly heard it from the TV inside as well.

It felt like an eternity before Ruby let go, and pulled back. The fireworks were still going off all around them, and Leah was just looking at Ruby completely speechless.

"Leah-chan..." Ruby couldn't believe she had actually done it. "Truth be told, that was my plan all along..." And she had been so worried she wouldn't be able to do it. "I'm... I'm sorry... are you angry?" she nervously had to ask when she realised Leah wasn't saying anything.

Leah blinked, and it finally occurred to her that she should say something. "N-n-no! O-of course not! I just... hadn't thought..." Well, she had thought about kissing Ruby this weekend, but she hadn't thought it would actually happen. Yet here they were. They had kissed. Leah's mind was blown, and she was having a hard time recovering.

"I'm sorry," Ruby said again.

Leah looked up at the sky. The amount of fireworks had died down considerably. "Don't be," she said, and smiled. "We should head back inside." She suddenly hopped up, turned to take Ruby's other hand as well, and pulled her up. Now that the surprise had worn off, she was feeling rather elated.

Ruby gave Leah a curious look. "Leah-chan?"

Leah kept smiling. In fact, she couldn't make herself stop. "Let's get ready for bed," she said, and started leading Ruby inside. "And then... um... maybe we could do it some more?" she suggested.

Ruby's eyes went wide, and then she giggled. "Hehe, I'd like that," she said, and hurried up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to bring back the day-dream fantasies, of course. Not to the extent/ratio of the prequel, but sneaking one in here, and one in chapter 1, was fun.  
> And the theme of Hanamaru as a surprisingly lewd character keeps reappearing in my fics, it seems. I don't even know how many fics I've made references to Maru recommending naughty books to Ruby. She's a good friend.


	4. Sad Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the final day for Ruby's stay, so she wants to make the most of it. Desperately wishing that time would stop so they could stay together forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will fully admit I was getting a little tired at this point, and was mainly focused on wrapping things up. Previous chapter was the climax, so while I still wanted to write a conclusion/epilogue, I didn't feel like dragging it out too long, for fear of starting to repeat myself too much.  
> I also just really wanted to finish it so I could post it already. <_< >_>

It turned into a late night as the two of them traded kisses, and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms. Thankfully the restaurant was closed on New Year's Day. So when Leah still woke up early, and found Ruby lying in bed with her, she could have a brief moment of panic, remember what happened last night, smile to herself, and close her eyes again.

When Ruby finally woke up, it was her turn to panic before remembering what happened last night. Leah hadn't woken up a second time yet. She had been more tired than she was aware, and her body happily accepted an opportunity to go back to sleep.

Ruby would have loved to stay like this forever, but she really badly needed to use the bathroom. Thankfully she was lying on the outside, so she was able to get out of the bed without disturbing Leah. She just barely managed to remember to send Dia a " _Happy Birthday, big sister!_ " text before she left the room.

Once she was done, she ran into Sarah in the hallway. "Good morning," Sarah said.

"Good morning," Ruby replied.

"Did you have fun last night?" Sarah asked with a clever smile.

Ruby wasn't sure what that smile meant. "Um... y-yeah..." she said, which just made Sarah's smile grow wider. Did she know what they had been doing? Or had she checked up on them this morning, and seen them in bed together?

"I'll get breakfast ready. You go wake Leah, and we'll go to the shrine afterwards," Sarah said, and showed Ruby a final smirk before she headed off to the kitchen.

Ruby was blushing deeply as she headed back to the room. She tried to imagine what Dia's reaction would have been to finding Ruby and Leah sleeping in the same bed. Ruby couldn't imagine it would have been good, but Sarah's reaction was hard to deal with in its own way. There was just this impression that she knew. Everything. Which made Ruby very self-conscious.

Leah was still sleeping, and she was so cute that Ruby almost didn't want to wake her up. It was a moment she didn't want to end. But it was also their last day, and Ruby wanted to make the very most of it.

A lot of mental images from reading the book yesterday resurfaced as she sat down on the bed, and she had to chase them away. She really wasn't ready to do those things yet, but they remained very vivid in her mind. There was one thing she knew of even before reading that book that she could maybe try though. Waking your lover with a kiss.

Though with Leah sleeping on her side like that, it was a somewhat tricky task. Ruby had some issues getting into a proper position for this, but eventually she found a way to kiss Leah without it being too awkward.. It was still soft, but it tasted a little different now. And it felt strange that Leah didn't react. Even with their first kiss, at least Leah had responded. Right now she didn't even fulfil the fantasy of waking up when kissed. Maybe Ruby had to try again.

Leah stirred on the second attempt, and suddenly Ruby found herself trapped as Leah wrapped her arms around her. There was no escape from Leah's hungry, half-asleep morning kisses. When she finally felt satisfied, Leah opened her eyes. "Mm... morning..." she mumbled.

Ruby giggled. "Good morning, Leah-chan," she said. "Breakfast is ready soon. You need to get up." If only every morning could be like this.

"Muh?" It was slowly dawning on Leah that she wasn't dreaming. "Ruby...?"

"Yup, it's me," Ruby said cheerfully, and kissed Leah's cheek before getting out of bed again. She had to change.

Seeing Ruby start to take her pajamas off woke Leah up in a hurry, and she quickly turned around. While Ruby didn't have anything that Leah hadn't technically seen already, it still felt like something she wasn't supposed to see.

"I'll go help Sarah-san set the table," Ruby said once she was done. It hadn't entered her mind that she should be shy about undressing in front of Leah. "Come when you're ready."

As she heard Ruby leave the room, Leah turned around again. Her face was red, and her heart was pounding in her ears. She wished she knew why she was so bashful about this. They had kissed now. Slept in the same bed. Seeing Ruby in her underwear shouldn't be such a big deal. No worse than seeing herself in the mirror, or Sarah. At least in theory. So why did it feel so different? And why didn't Ruby seem to be as bothered by it?

She got up, got dressed, and headed over to join Sarah and Ruby for breakfast. The knowing look and smile Sarah gave her made Leah blush a little again, but she did her best to ignore it as she sat down.

"Any plans for today?" Sarah asked.

"Um..." Leah didn't really have anything. She simply wished today didn't have to end, so Ruby wouldn't have to leave.

"I... I would like to... do as much as we can..." Ruby said. They'd had a nice couple of days together, but ultimately hadn't done a lot of stuff. "Leah-chan! Let's go do a bunch of things! My treat!" She still had Mari's money, and she had a feeling Mari would approve.

Leah was taken aback by Ruby's sudden intensity, and she looked over at Sarah.

"We're going to the shrine first, but afterwards you're free to do as you want," Sarah said, and smiled at them. "Just remember to be back by four."

Leah couldn't help grinning. "Okay!"

It was closing in on noon as they reached the shrine, and it seemed like the worst of the crowd had already passed. Most people probably hadn't slept in as late as Leah had, even on New Year's Day. They paid their respects, and both Ruby and Leah had their own variations on wishing they'd get to see each other as much as possible in the coming year. This relationship wouldn't be easy, and it wasn't like either of them could just move, and transfer schools. Though they had both thought about it. Maybe when they went to college they could apply to the same one.

Then they were set loose. Both of them had come up with an idea for what to do. Leah had recalled the cat café that came to mind on Friday, and Ruby would love to do karaoke. It wouldn't be a live show, but they'd get to sing together again.

They went to the cat café first, as it would be nice to get something warm to drink. Ruby was a fan of hot chocolate, and Leah figured she might as well try one too. The heat trickled through their chests, and spread throughout their bodies.

As Leah had expected, Ruby was really into the cats. Even using the toys to play with them. The cats were also fond of Ruby. A bit too much it turned out, as Ruby got swarmed by cats climbing all over her, and had to be rescued by Leah and the staff. The cats were purring wildly as they were being picked up.

Ruby joined Leah at the table, so they could finish their drinks, and she also ordered some cake. There were several pictures taken too, including a lucky shot Ruby managed to get of Leah with a dash of cream on her cheek. Leah protested, and wanted Ruby to delete it. Which made Ruby laugh. She was able to convince Leah to let her keep it. No one else was going to see it, after all. She was having the time of her life, and trying to not think too much about how she was leaving later today.

Of course Ruby paid for the both of them. Leah didn't feel that was fair, but Ruby insisted. She didn't go into all the details, but she said she had gotten some extra spending money for the trip, and was told to use it to have a good time. Leah reluctantly accepted that explanation.

Karaoke was next, which featured mostly µ's and A-RISE songs, though a few others also made the cut. They did both solo songs and duets, and were having so much fun they bought two half-hour extensions to their time. By the end their voices were pretty shot. The final ten minutes they ended up just sitting down and taking it easy, as trying to sing any more just made it sound horribly broken.

Since they were alone, they also took the chance to sneak in a few kisses. There wouldn't be many more opportunities to do that for a while, so they might as well take the ones they had.

Even including the wandering around they had done, there was still about an hour and a half left after they got out of the karaoke place. Going someplace to eat didn't seem right, as Sarah had promised Ruby a final meal before she left. There wasn't really any more shopping she wanted to do. She couldn't fit a lot of souvenirs in her luggage, and didn't want to take any extra bags onto the plane, but she had gotten something for Hanamaru, Yoshiko, and Dia. She'd have to find some other way to thank Mari, rather than buying her something with her own money.

Leah squeezed Ruby's hand tightly. It was really starting to hit her hard that Ruby was leaving in just a few hours.

"Leah-chan..." Ruby wasn't really having an easier time herself, but she wanted to make more good memories before she left. For a moment she stopped caring whether people were watching, and linked her arm around Leah's. "Let's take more pictures," she said, and held up the camera to start with a selfie. "Say cheese!"

So they went around finding stuff to take pictures of, and with. Snapping shots of each other, taking more selfies, and sometimes getting other people to take pictures of them together. Ruby promised to send Leah copies of all of the pictures.

All too soon it was time for them to go back. They returned a little before four, but Sarah was already ready to set the table, so they ate right away. Though there was a certain melancholy to it now. They weren't sure exactly when they'd see each other again, so this was the last time Ruby would get to eat together with them for a while. It was hard to not cry.

When they went back to Leah's room so Ruby could pack, Ruby instead fell onto Leah's bed with a sigh. It smelled like Leah. "I don't want to go," she said.

Leah sat down, and stroked Ruby's hair as she made her best attempt at being the brave one. "I don't want you to go," she said, fighting back her tears.

Ruby suddenly sat up. "I know! Let's run away together!" she said with tears in the corners of her eyes. They could probably make it a while if she took the rest of Mari's money.

Leah laughed. "You know we can't do that," she replied. It was a tempting idea, though.

"Yeah..." Ruby sniffed. She got off of the bed, and started packing her things. It didn't take long, as there hadn't been that much she had unpacked in the first place. She had brought a lot of 'just in case' stuff that she hadn't really needed.

Once she was done, Leah gave her another unprompted hug. "Time flies quickly," Leah said. "We'll see each other soon." She really wanted to believe that. "Maybe I'll come see you next time." Maybe she could get a raise, or find another part-time job.

Ruby returned the hug, and couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. "Yeah..." she said again, not knowing what else to say.

They shared one last goodbye kiss, then went to join Sarah so they could leave for the airport. The trip there was quiet, as no one really knew what more to say.

At the airport the farewell turned very teary, as neither Ruby nor Leah were able to hold back any longer. Even Sarah got a little misty-eyed from watching them, but eventually she had to break them apart so Ruby wouldn't be late for her flight.

"I'll call you when I get home," Ruby said before she went through security, and waved at Leah and Sarah from the other side before she had to hurry to the gate.

Taking off when it was so dark outside felt a little surreal. All she could really see outside were the lights of the city. Towards the sea it was basically total darkness.

The flight itself was uneventful. Ruby kept her handkerchief on hand to keep drying her tears away. She didn't want the other passengers to remember her as the girl who kept crying, so she was doing her very rubesty to stay calm.

As she got out of the arrival area after getting her luggage, she heard someone call out: "Ruby!" She looked up to see Dia come towards her, and pretty soon her big sister was hugging her tightly.

Ruby giggled a little. As sad as leaving Leah behind was, it still felt nice to see her sister again. "Happy birthday, Dia," Ruby said, even though she had already sent that text. She could see the others standing further behind, though she couldn't see if it was everyone. Hanamaru, Chika, and Mari were visible, so she assumed that at least Yoshiko was also here. But they were all standing back to let Dia have her moment.

"Have you been a good girl?" Dia asked.

Ruby wasn't sure if there was any deeper meaning behind that question, but regardless she should probably be diplomatic about this. "Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go. It took them just one episode to sell me on the idea of Ruby/Leah, and after two episodes it was fully cemented.  
> But that's the end of that for now. I have other Christmas stories to get through, but this was a lot of fun. Didn't think I was capable of writing something this long at this time of year, considering how low my energy reserves are in winter. Maybe next time will be in February.


End file.
